The Malibu Search and Rescue Team (Malibu SAR), the volunteer team of first responders organized by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), beat its record for most rescues performed annually this year with a whopping 130 rescues in and around Malibu in 2015.
On Christmas night, Dec. 25, a call was put out for a 35-year-old insulin-dependent man who became lost from a campground at Malibu Creek State Park. According to a social media post from Malibu SAR, the temperature was 35 degrees at the time.
The victim was safely located at 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 26 with the help of Malibu SAR, LASD and Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel.
Two additional rescue calls on Dec. 28 – including one for a 13-year-old autistic boy lost in 40-degree temperatures in Topanga – broke the 2011 record of 128 rescues in a single year. Monday’s rescues included aid from the Altadena Mountain Rescue Team and the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team.